Unspoken
by Meliorism
Summary: Cloud can't help but feel some form of familiarity towards the strange pink-haired woman, especially when she speaks...it's 'her' voice he hears.


**Disclaimer**- Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy XIII © Square Enix

**A/N**- Cloud Strife and Lightning Farron, enjoy.

_H_e opened his eyes and suddenly everything felt clearer. It was as if every bit of tension in his body was released. He glanced around at his current setting and found himself unable to place a name to the unfamiliar area. Apart from the grass beneath his feet stretching into a field as far as he could see, and the flowers that bloomed here and there, nothing else was recognizable. There was no sky above for the sun to shine from, just white. An empty white space. For a single moment he wondered if he was in _that_ place. With _her_. One look at the flowers told him that he wasn't; he remembered their yellow color during that time. It was all he could stare at, he couldn't bear to look into those eyes, that face. No, these flowers were red: roses. So what was this ethereal land? A dream perhaps? Product of the Lifestream maybe? He wondered to himself. He entertained the notion of walking to see how far he would get, or if there was anywhere worth getting to. He breathed out a sigh and briefly reached back to grip the handle of the First Ken, reassured that he still had the weapon with him should he need the protection. He doubted anything dangerous would occur, not in this quiescent setting. The soft crunch of grass from behind caught his attention, as well as a voice that sounded unbelievably familiar to his ears. He turned around expecting to find _her_.

Only… it wasn't

It was someone else

This person was not who he expected; the brown ringlets he was used to seeing had been replaced with a mane of pink locks. An outfit worn that suggested military affiliation if the single pauldron on her shoulder was anything to go by, instead of modest casual dress. And from what he could see, a weapon holster behind her that carried what looked like a gun or blade of sorts. He had never seen this woman before. Something about her resonated with him in the slightest bit, but there was also something off…

"Who are you?" she spoke.

That voice, it was _hers_. There was no doubt about it. The exact same soothing and soft voice, but with an undertone of coldness to it.

His brows furrowed "Me? Who are _you_?"

Her lips pursed at this. He noticed this. Not trying to be rude or intimidating, he just wanted to know who she was and why she sounded exactly like his dearly departed.

"Lost, evidently," she answered with a touch of annoyance.

"Same," agreed "though…I can't say completely."

She eyed him curiously yet guarded "You've been here before?"

He nodded "Not here exactly, but a place very much like it. A while ago."

"Tch," the pink-haired woman folded her arms beneath her breasts and glared at the white surrounding the realm.

It suddenly occurred why the nature of this woman caused a stir within him; she was his match. Not in the sense that they were of the same essence, but in terms of personality and in some ways appearance-wise as evidenced in her glassy blue eyes. It was silly to think such, but he couldn't help seeing bits of himself reflected in this woman. She may have had _her_ voice, but the way she talked and her mannerisms were more akin to him, albeit in a more feminine grace. The cool air of their traceless location brought his attention back from his thoughts and into the present. Not wanting to prompt any further unnecessary disgruntlement, he stepped forward and offered a hand. Turning her hard gaze back at him, she eyed the appendage for a moment before returning the courteous gesture.

"Cloud," he introduced himself.

"Lightning," she replied.

After letting go, a moment of silence reigned, the two unabashedly staring at each other. Two pairs of blue eyes met, studying the other; curiosity and slight awe. After a minute, Lightning shifted her stance, relaxing within his company.

"I don't suppose you know how to leave this place."

Cloud pondered on this; it was rather strange. Usually his 'visits' were very brief, they lasted a minute or less, and only happened whenever he was deep in contemplation or under some form of anxiety. Neither of which he could remember being under before his current event.

"Sorry, I don't," he answered

"Hn," she breathed, turning her head aside, eyes roaming the mysterious landscape "I doubt this is any kind of hallucination, so that one's ruled out."

"Do you remember what you were doing before this happened?" he offered helpfully

"Vaguely," was her answer "I was with my sister and her…boyfriend."

Cloud noticed the way her left eye twitched slightly at the mention of _boyfriend_. Clearly it was a touchy subject and one he planned not to bring up in any possible future conversation. Still, he wanted answers and if they got some kind of conversation going maybe then they'd learn their way out.

"As strange as this question is," he began "do I know you?"

Lightning turned to him, her eyes widening just a fraction and her lips parted as if she were to speak, but the words had not been spoken. There was something inscrutable about the way she looked at him, no doubt mirrored on his facial features as well.

"It seems like it, but I'm not certain," she replied evenly

A thought flickered through his mind, no- more like a memory or dream. Something ethereal like a radiant light, there were faces of people distorted and unclear. Out of all of them, he could only recognize the pink of her hair and a warm glow. He could even hear the sounds of sloshing water. Why did it seem so familiar?

"Cloud."

Snapping out of his trance, the blonde refocused on Lightning. She was looking at him expectantly and he realized that she had probably said something while he wasn't listening.

"Sorry," he apologized "I lost focus."

She didn't bear any offense, not even bearing an affronted expression like he half-expected "I asked if you are a soldier of some sort."

"Ex," he shook his head "I was but not anymore."

"Same here," Lightning nodded "just something that didn't seem appropriate for what I was doing."

Well that rang bells

It was a bit too strange, meeting this Lightning woman. Her voice was eerily familiar to his ears, her personality and (dare he consider) traits almost aligned with his. His curiosity nagged at him to question further and for a brief moment, he wondered if it was really _her_, but he quickly dismissed this. There were indeed a lot of incredible events he had witnessed but he doubted something impossible as _rebirth_ would happen, then again something as farfetched as this was occurring right before him, so it couldn't hurt to at least ask. Before the question even bubbled from his throat, there was a significant ripple in the air that caught both their attention. There was some sort of presence, otherworldly as the field that had stretched far and wide began to dispel, swallowed up by the white.

"Huh," he furrowed his brows "looks like our fifteen minutes are up."

Lightning rolled her eyes, a hint of a smirk on her lips "Do you think it will happen again?"

"Maybe," he mused "Like I said, I've been to a place sort of like this before. If anything, it'll probably happen when we least expect it."

The flowers were disappearing and the grass beneath their feet was fading to white. Cloud noticed his vision began to blur, a product of returning home perhaps? Expelling a sigh, the blonde closed his eyes. He heard his new acquaintance give a soft grunt and was surprised to feel her hand grasp his.

"You're eyes?" he prompted

"Yeah," she answered

"I think it'll be over soon," he tried to reassure her

"Tch, if this is going to happen more than once-

"Listen," Cloud interrupted "this request may sound unexpected and even a bit selfish of me, but…should we happen to see each other next time, would you mind telling me more of who you are?"

With his eyes closed he couldn't see her expression, but knew she must've felt a tad hesitant and somewhat wary judging by the way her grip tightened on his hand. After a moment, when the breeze had picked up, the cold air brushing against his skin, she answered loud enough for him to hear.

"Sure. See you around Cloud."

Whether it was some sixth sense or outward indication, Cloud felt the world around him dissolve. Even with eyes shut, he was engulfed in the white atmosphere that fizzled out of this existence. His body filled with warmth as he returned home and the hope that she'll return to see him.

-fin-

* * *

*flips table*

Well this took longer to write than necessary. Anyway, notes...

-As you can probably tell, this fic is based around the fact that Tetsuya Nomura used bits of Cloud Strife's design to build into the character of Lightning Farron. So this is my take on how the two would interact upon meeting each other. I attempted to write them as in-character as I could.

-Their meeting happens in a realm that is sort of like a "space between worlds" or something. It's not exactly considered a shared dream, but it's not reality either. I'd like to call it a respite.

-It was very hard to refrain from mentioning Aerith by name. I chose not to because it seemed like that would minimize the mystery of the fic, now it just looks like unnecessary redundancy.

-The bits about Lightning's voice, she and Aerith share the same wonderful seiyuu in Japanese: Maaya Sakamoto.


End file.
